The Magic of the Microfibre Travel Towel

When you’re researching backpacking and deciding what you’re going to take with you, a towel is not something you think of straight away. I mean, when you go on holiday, your hotel has towels. Hostels and guesthouses generally do not. And when they do it’s pretty hit or miss.

But with all of the things you need to take with you, the essentials and the odd luxury, how on earth are you meant to squeeze in a big fluffy towel?!

Well here’s where you discover the Microfibre Travel Towel. 

It’s thin and folds up small, it’s super absorbent, quick drying, it really ticks all the boxes. I’m a big advocate of the microfibre travel towel as you can see. You can get one on Amazon for under £20 in different colours and sizes from lots of different brands. The one I chose was from Lifeventure (Lifeventure Soft-Fibre Advance Trek Towel Giant). Mainly because it comes in a mesh pouch with a Karabiner. When you have to check out of somewhere at 10am and your towel is still damp, stuffing it into your backpack can make the towel and your clothes smell gross. So by putting it into it’s mesh pouch and attaching it to the outside of your backpack, it can breathe and dry properly. It also saves a bit of ever important space in your bag.

The thing is, there are also anti-microfibre towel backpackers out there. I think mainly because they feel a bit like a shammy you wash your car with! They do take a bit of getting used to but I think they’re fine. And they save so much more space, I definitely think it’s the way to go.

One thing I would recommend is to have a look at the towels in Blacks or Millets before you buy online. Firstly to have a feel and see if you can get on board with them. But also, because the size of the towels is quite weird. I remember them coming up very small and I think I ended up getting the ‘Giant’ size which is actually just a normal sized towel. It’s worth having a look.

Now I should probably clarify that bringing just ONE towel is the way forward. I know at first you’re like – Wait, I can’t use the same towel for showering and the beach. What if you come home from the beach and want to shower but your only towel is covered in sand?? Ok well that’s why you use your trusty sarong for the beach. Your towel is for drying off only.

Another girly thought I had when considering the whole towel thing was – Er what about my hair? I use a towel to dry off and a towel for my hair… how’s that going to work? I mean yeah I was being a princess. But it’s a legitimate question, especially if you have a lot of hair. Now you can use your sarong again here but I didn’t like to, it’s not like a thin layer of cotton is going to absorb much water. Initially I brought one of those thin head wrap towels with me – it was under a fiver on Amazon here– which is definitely an option. But my first stop was Asia where my hair dried super fast and there was no reason to carry it around so it made its way to the hostel giveaway bin. I definitely think this is an option though if you feel like you’ll really need a second towel for your hair.

But I pretty much just made do with the one towel, and would definitely recommend it. Every inch of space in your backpack counts after all.